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A sustained philosophical dialogue investigates the nature of justice by moving from individual conduct to the design of an ideal polity, where guardians receive a disciplined education and the wise govern. It presents a tripartite account of the soul linked to social classes, sets out a theory of knowledge highlighted by the allegory of the cave and the realm of forms, and defends the priority of wisdom in political order. The discussion maps a decline of constitutions from best to worst, recommends cultural censorship for moral formation, and concludes with a mythic account of the soul’s fate to underscore moral consequences.
Socrates, who is the narrator.
Glaucon.
Adeimantus.
Polemarchus.
Cephalus.
Thrasymachus.
Cleitophon.
And others who are mute auditors.
The scene is laid in the house of Cephalus at the Piraeus; and the whole dialogue is narrated by Socrates the day after it actually took place to Timaeus, Hermocrates, Critias, and a nameless person, who are introduced in the Timaeus.